New leadership is coming to the Council of Inspectors General. On Jan. 1, Michael Horowitz, inspector general of the Justice Department, will begin his two-year term as chair of the organization. He and his predecessor, former GSA IG Brian Miller, discussed the many challenges of directing the 72 inspectors general in government.

Project on Government Oversight general counsel Scott Amey and Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project join host Debra Roth to talk about the inspector general community and the challenges IGs face in identifying fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government.
November 21, 2014

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) says agency inspectors general are increasingly facing obstacles in their efforts to uncover waste and misconduct. The top watchdogs at both the Justice Department and the Peace Corps told lawmakers they've faced resistance from their agencies at times in turning over records in recent years. Lawmakers also expressed concern about the impact of across-the-board budget cuts on the operations agency IG operations.

Aside from the abrupt personnel changes at the General Services Administration, the spending scandal highlighted the role of the agency inspector general in federal oversight. But it turns out many agencies and departments now lack an official IG, according to data maintained by the Project on Government Oversight.